Of all the things Johnny Manziel could have done to make news this offseason, nobody could have expected the announcement that the Cleveland Browns quarterback entered rehab last Wednesday.
A nude Manziel riding a rogue elephant painted with a Confederate flag down Prospect Avenue? That we would have believed. A leaked sex tape starring Johnny Football, Tila Tequila and comatose Cuban president Fidel Castro? I’m pretty sure I read that already happened. An oxycontin-fueled Manziel water ski-jumping a caged shark wearing a leather jacket and yellow short-shorts? I had money on that in an office pool. But this? Rehab? I am shocked.
The Finding Bigfoot team had better odds stumbling onto a Texas Hold ‘Em game between Elvis, Ogopogo, the Fouk Monster and D.B. Cooper. Manziel actually trying to improve himself is the craziest story you’ll read all week.
But good for him. Because Manziel was a complete mess.
Manziel prompted the Browns to draft him last may with a text saying that he wanted to “wreck this league,” but all Manziel managed to do was wreck himself. In spite of record sales of Manziel jerseys, Browns coach Mike Pettine knew what he had in Manziel and for that reason, the rookie quarterback never saw the field until the Browns were completely ready to give up on the season.
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According to ESPN, an unnamed Browns player said that Manziel’s 2014 season was a “100 percent joke.”
Manziel would continually screw up, miss meetings, do dumb things and then would show up before the media contrite, saying all the right things. After missing his scheduled work with the team trainer, two members of team security drove out to his house and found him “drunk off his ass.”
Manziel was fined and wasn’t allowed even on the sideline in the team’s final game against the Baltimore Ravens. Afterward, Johnny was his usual sorry self.
“I brought this on myself,” Manziel said. “I brought these cameras and all these people that are in this locker room right now and I don’t think it’s fair to myself, I don’t think it’s fair to anybody in this locker room the distractions I’ve brought at points in time.”
All true, but saying that makes no difference if you continue to act like an idiot. Manziel was officially put on notice when new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo was hired and said, “We’re not sure our starting quarterback is in the building or not. If he is, great. If he isn’t, great too.”
It’s worth noting that Manziel is the only quarterback the Browns currently have under contract.
None of this should have been a shock to anyone who followed Manziel’s career at Texas A&M. On the field, in A&M’s basic offense, Manziel was fantastic. Off the field, he was this same guy. And the leap from the college to the pro game is too great to not put in the preparation needed to win. A college QB can wing it against Sam Houston State, not so much against the Baltimore Ravens defense.
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Manziel played in five games as a rookie, completing 18 passes for 175 yards, two picks and a 51.4 completion percentage. The Browns selected Manziel with the No. 22 pick in last year’s draft and while he’s making plenty of money, he hasn’t killed their salary cap if they want to cut ties with him after next season. If this stint in rehab doesn’t work, they should.
Manziel isn’t the first highly-touted rookie quarterback with discipline issues to flame out in the NFL and he won’t be the last. Ryan Leaf crashed so hard ended up in prison for burglary. JaMarcus Russell did a stint in jail for drug possession. Art Schlicter was banned from the NFL for gambling. It happens. Teams looking to draft Jameis Winston out of Florida State should take note.
But Manziel has actually done something smart here. He’s sought help before it’s too late. Reportedly, Manziel was offered a six-figure sum to host a Super Bowl party in Las Vegas and he turned it down. That’s something.
Johnny Manziel has all the talent and ability needed to succeed in the NFL. How far he goes as a pro has been a choice he had to make for himself. Being a professional quarterback has always been in his reach. Last Wednesday, for the first time, he actually made an attempt to grab it.
